AI search has a big trust problem. Consumers use it to compare products, research vendors, and narrow their options, but many don’t trust the answers they get.
Sixty-five percent of Americans used AI search in the past six months, yet only 15% said they trust it a lot, according to research from Yelp. That’s created a trust cliff. AI is gaining influence over buying decisions faster than consumers are gaining confidence in the technology.
The shift creates a new challenge for marketers. Consumers may distrust AI, but they still use it to compare products, research vendors, and narrow their options. Brands increasingly find themselves judged by recommendations they do not control.
Sherry Smith, president of retail media at Criteo, said AI is already changing how shoppers evaluate products.
“We’re seeing consumers use AI for product comparison,” Smith said. “It’s becoming part of the discovery process and how shoppers compare prices.”
Trust is a problem for B2B, too
And it’s not just happening in retail.
In B2B software buying, 53% of buyers said AI search made software research more productive than traditional search, according to G2’s “2026 AI Search Insight Report.” The report emphasizes how drastically this changes the discovery phase:
“Buyers who once needed weeks to compare vendors can now use their favorite AI chatbot to get a usable synthesis in minutes. And, they don’t just start with a prompt. They leverage chat to run comparisons, and ultimately, to decide.”
In many cases, buyers now encounter AI recommendations before they encounter the vendor’s marketing.
The trust gap is harder to ignore because AI is pushing buyers to make decisions much faster.
“The shopping journey is becoming shorter,” Smith said. “It’s less linear and more decision-driven. When shoppers arrive from these environments, they’re getting closer to that final choice.”
Fewer opportunities for marketers
That means the loss of opportunities to shape the buying journey. Instead of moving from homepage to category page to product page, shoppers increasingly arrive at the point of decision.
It also changes where that first interaction happens.
“Our research shows that 70% of AI-referred users land on product detail pages,” Smith said. “We need to make those pages as strong as possible because, for many referred visitors, that’s their first interaction with the brand.”
For years, marketers treated product pages as the last step before conversion. AI is turning them into the new front door. Now, for a growing number of shoppers, the product page is doing the job the homepage used to do.
Three-quarters of Americans would lose trust in AI shopping results if those results were sponsored, according to Quad/Graphics’ report “The New Rules of Retail Trust in the Age of AI.”
That’s why the trust cliff matters. Consumers may rely on AI recommendations, but many still question whether those recommendations serve the shopper, the platform, or the advertiser.
The question, then “Are we building experiences that earn and deserve consumer trust?”
Smith compares today’s AI adoption curve to the early days of social commerce.
“Shoppers need time to get comfortable and confident with AI,” she said. “We saw the same pattern with social media. People still trust retailers and familiar shopping environments, but confidence will grow over time.”
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Smith argues that trust grows when AI feels helpful rather than intrusive.
“Brands have an opportunity to create moments of serendipity,” Smith said. “If a retailer understands what a shopper came for and can recommend something genuinely relevant, that feels personal and helpful rather than intrusive.”
The trust cliff is not a future problem. Consumers already rely on AI to shape decisions, compare options, and narrow choices. The brands that win will be the ones that turn AI visibility into consumer confidence.
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